Abstract

Ecological infrastructure like wetlands, coastal dunes, rivers and estuaries play as crucial a role in a country's development as built infrastructure such as roads and railways. South Africa's wealth of ecological infrastructure - viewed as a nice to have for decades - is increasingly proving to be the cornerstone that underpins urban and rural economies. This ecological infrastructure provides us with many benefits (called ecosystem services) including fertile soil for agriculture, fresh water, food, fuelwood, pollination of our food crops and tourism, but also things like protection from extreme events - floods, droughts and fire. This is increasingly relevant in the face of the mounting risks of climate change.